Shattering Jewels
by VizzyHC
Summary: AU, my version of an 'Aizen wins AU' Even when damaged, one can still take a jewel and try to make it shine, even if the jewel doesn't wish to. I'll write a better summary later
1. Prologue

_To my lovelies who keep me going_

 _And then to those who call me an emotional masochist..._

 _I still love you!_

"Why them?"

Sosuke Aizen looked up from what he was doing to see his Sexta standing in the doorway to the room where he and Szayelaporro were working on healing a group of prisoners, all of whom were unconscious.

"Whatever could you mean Grimmjow?" Aizen smiled as the young man slid into the room, his head tilting the slightest bit to the side in his confusion.

"I thought you hated these guys, the fake arrancar." He gestured as the supine form of a young blond woman laying in front of Aizen, a number of complex machines all working to keep her weakened form alive. "Tosen said that they were mutants that were to be executed by the guys who used to be in charge of your world, that and they tried to go against ya." He shook his head, "I don't get why you would try to save those freaks."

"Tell me something, Grimmjow," Aizen turned back down to his work, taking care to not to jostle her as the Hogyoku in his possession began to glow and focus its light onto the mangled pieces of her waist. "Do you know the process to make a truly beautiful gemstone?"

The arrancar scoffed, "No, why would I?"

"It's quite interesting to think about." He smoothed the young woman's bangs away from her face as she grimaced in her sleep, fingering her locks as he removed the hair bands and clips used to hold it back, lightly tossing them to join the red jacket and white tank top in the small bin filled with her other clothes as the waves fell gently around her face. "Imagine that you hold what looks like an ordinary stone in your hand, broken from the same common stone that all the others come from, but that stone has an incredible rare quality about it, a beauty within that, that with the right hand, can shine brilliantly for he who owns it."

"What does that have to do with those freaks?"

Pulling away from his work, Aizen materialized a stone in his hand. "Right now, each of them is a rough and battered stone, Kisuke Urahara's work that let them each take on such ugly qualities. With enough force," with ease Aizen broke the stone in half, "the rough outer shell can be broken away, revealing the exposed facets and colors within that hold the beauty of the geode. Once exposed," the broken halves began to glow, their rough outsides wearing away, "one has the opportunity to clear away the ugly parts they don't desire, and begin to shape the crystals within to show of their best properties, turning a rough and messy stone," the smaller, exposed, halves each returned to his hands and upon the opening and closing of each of his hands, he held a lovely stone in each, "it is then that you can truly hold a lovely jewel for all to see."

Gesturing to the seven other figures who lay on the other cot beds in the room, each lost in a troubled sleep, a gentle smile appeared on Lord Aizen's face.

"I am saving them, to break them into whatever I please. Perfectly formed jewels don't just appear in one's hand Grimmjow, one must take it upon themselves to clear up the mess to reveal what beauty only the artist can see within." Dropping the stones into Grimmjow's hands, he returned to his work. "I do hope that helped you better understand what I'm doing Grimmjow, now I must return to my work. I do look forward to how they will glitter, my Jewels."


	2. Part 1: The Song

Part 1, The Song

Shinji isn't sure what's worse at the moment, the silence that fell too suddenly or the screams that started shortly after.

Eyes screwed shut, he tried to block out the sounds of the others begging for Rose, asking what happened. Since the beginning of their captivity after the war ended, they hadn't seen one another, not since Aizen's causal flick of the wrist destroyed all of Hachi's barriers and the flash of white knocked them all unconscious before they each awoke suspended by chains in a cell.

Shinji isn't sure how far apart they are, but he knows the acoustics of the building they're in are high quality because just as easily as he can hear Kensei roaring for blood he can hear Mashiro's breathy little sobs, the ones he had to strain to hear when he was on the same couch as her in the warehouse.

For awhile they were screaming for one another, begging to be in one another's reach and making sure that they were each safe, or at least as safe as they could be at the moment. He had nearly cried with relief when Hiyori's shrill voice started to demand to be set free, that she was gonna kick everyone's asses.

A short while after they were able to confirm that they were still all together random periods of time would pass by without someone's voice and they'd be back but they would never say what happened.

It was around that time that Rose announced that he could not handle the silence and began to sing.

At first it was simple melody meant to fill the silence but over time it began to grow strong enough to cover the sounds of crying and the roars of the Espada for him to shut up. Rose switched between languages as easily as breathing, singing songs of love, loss, and of joy, calling back to all the times they spent together over the past century and whatever echos remained of who they once were before they lost the purity of their souls.

Shinji could remember back to when they were all training to control their hollows, how they could barely think for all the screaming still going on within their own minds and how Rose would still hum his little melodies despite having lost his music at the time. He had that warm look he only showed his closest companions as he picked up Kinshara for the first time in years, "If all you're going to do is moan and wail, then I'll sing and hum until it gets better, no one needs to live with such horrible sounds in the background."

It seemed like he was making good on his promise, his voice warbling and singing out despite the coughs that came in between verses and the soft moments of quiet between when he'd confirm that he was fine despite the hacking coughing fit he just had before immediately starting into the next song.

It was the moment that the music stopped that frightened Shinji the most. Right as Rose had been about to hit the bridge of the song it came to a sudden stop. For a good few minutes there wasn't even a cough to tell them that Rose was still there, and for a moment Shinji's stomach dropped as his inner hollow chuckled as he whispered 'You all always did joke he would one day sing himself to death.'

When he didn't respond to the careful calls of his name, panic set in. Even if Rose had passed out or something they all knew he was the lightest sleeper they had ever encountered even before Hollowfication sent his hearing sensitivity to the levels it was now. He always woke up easily and would always respond, this wasn't like him.

Shinji and the others knew their drama king very well, well enough to know that he never did anything half assed, that Rose would make good on his promise to sing his heart out, willing to turn his lungs to ash and tear his vocal cords to shreds rather than let the songs he would croon out to them come to an end before he saw them again.

"ROOOOSE!" Love's voice echoed once more down the halls of the castle, "ROSE SAY SOMETHING!"

Shinji wished his hands weren't chained to the ceiling so he could cover his ears and pray for anything but what he feared most.

—-

On the other side of the palace, Aizen stood over a Visored strapped down to a table as Szayelaporro continued his work.

As much as he wanted to remain stoic, Rose felt tears fall down his face as the pink haired arrancar wired his jaw shut and as Aizen began to heal the broken skin around his mouth.

Rose had just about to hit the bridge of one of his favorite songs when the door to his cell opened and and Espada with golden eyes froze him in his tracks. Before he could come to his senses and fight he had been restrained to a gurney and brought to this room where the pink haired Espada chuckled as he worked.

"Really Rojuro, was it really worth it to damage yourself in such a manner?" Rose wanted to jerk away from that gentle hand as it brushed against his cheekbone, but the restraints prevented any movement. "Your songs were lovely, that I must admit, a talent that no other Visored has seemed to show. It would be a shame to lose such a lovely voice, now wouldn't it?"

"I'm all done on my end Lord Aizen." The pink haired Espada gave a respectful bow before leaving the room.

The restraints holding his neck and head perfectly still were removed, allowing Rose to test the wires. Strong enough to keep his Visored strength in check, but with enough give to make sure he could easily breathe and shift his teeth if need be, all while holding his jaw in place.

"Why?" Rose choked out the word through his mangled vocal cords, the wires and his aching throat allowing him to speak only that one word.

A hand brushed through his hair, catching on tangles that had formed while he had been restrained in his cell, hands bound to the ceiling. Aizen looked deceptively gently as he then tugged against a particularly tight snarl. "You are not to cause yourself such injury again my jewel." His quick fingers untangled the snarl and continued on to another. "I don't wish for my things to become damaged as you allowed yourself to become. It was already enough of a pain to have to heal all those injuries after you injured yourself in battle with the rest of the collection, but now," the hand dropped away, "injured under my care."

Rose heard footsteps in the hall just before a smaller servant entered the room with a cart of tea. After a quick dismissal Aizen turned from the servant back to Rose. "I will be sure not to make the same mistake again."

A moment later, the table shifted and his upper body was elevated and Aizen held a cup of what looked like milk before him. Turning from it, he pressed his lips tightly together.

"Come now my Topaz, it's just a glass of honeyed milk. If you'd prefer, I also have tea if that would suit you better." The grip on his chin was enough to startle him as he was forced to turn back to Aizen. "I fully intend to rectify what you have done, especially if we want to keep that beautiful voice of yours. I will not let one of my collection break when I can easily fix them."

The lip of the cup pressed into the seam of his lips and the warm liquid glanced off of his upper lip as he screwed his eyes shut and tried to refuse the drink. "Don't be like a child my Topaz, take your medicine." At Rose's silence he continued, "Every choice you make to disobey me makes this harder on both you and your friends. Right now your punishment is already bad enough, do not make me have to do something drastic to make sure you all remain in my control."

The lip of the cup softly clinked against Rose's top teeth as the force increased. "Drink." The command was simple and Rose hated the sweet liquid as it soothed his aching throat, Aizen holding both him and the glass steady as to keep any drops from spilling. Once the glass was empty Aizen repeated the process several more times until Rose felt sick from the sweetness of the honey clinging to his tongue and throat.

"That will do for now." Reaching beneath the cloth of the tea cart he pulled out what looked like a glittering golden muzzle, shaped similarly to the beak portion of his hollow mask and made to completely cover the entirety of his face starting just below his eyes. "Considering how Kinshara is such a lovely shade of gold, I thought you would enjoy my choice of color."

Rose tried to jerk his face away from the offending object but too quickly it was secured, the smooth inside shaped to further hold his mouth in place. A quick struggle left him horrified at his discovery.

"With the help of the septima, I managed to get Hachigan to obey a few simple orders when I removed him from your group for a time. I had him spell this muzzle with kidos to prevent the ability to speak or be removed by the wearer."

Hachi had been forced to use his kido to make something like this? As the table was lowered back down Aizen began to push him out of the room and walked to several of the Espada gathered outside the door. "Return him to his cell, I want him to remain unchained and take anything that could make noise from his cell. Two guards are to remain at his doors at all times and I will call for him to be taken out of his cell to receive care. Do not let the others hear him." As the guards began to push him away Aizen smiled at Rose and gently called out, "Until we meet again, my Jewel."

Upon arriving at his cell and being released from his bonds he clawed away at his muzzle and pounded his fists on the walls, knuckles broken and bloody as the voices of his friends calling out continued to echo about in his mind while every part of him screamed to respond to the people he had become closest in the past century.

Hands slid down the wall with the rest of his figure, bloodied handprints left behind as he reached to hold his head to his knees.

—

Time was strange in Hueco Mundo or wherever it was that Aizen had his palace.

Lisa had lost track of the days quickly, and time seemed to drag on endlessly since Rose had gone silent. She hung limply from her chains, the ever present and dull pain that radiated around her body no longer anything but her new state of being.

The unending monotony following the start of the silence seemed to be both a comfort and a new level of Hell. At the same time she was thankful that this was all Aizen seemed to have planned for now she would have rather faced an army of Kushanada than have to listen to the sound of the others' struggles growing weaker and weaker, roars of revenge and anger replaced by half hearted struggles and the sound of soft crying.

She didn't even react when the door to the room appeared from the blank white walls, the female Espada leading her little lackeys into the cell.

"Doesn't seem like we'll have to hold this one down." The tallest of her Fracciones seemed a little disappointed in Lisa's acceptance of whatever they planned to do to her. She was faintly aware of the clinking of the chains above her head moving right before she began to drop to the floor, too weak to try to catch herself.

Not one of them spoke to her as the tallest Fraccion threw Lisa over her shoulder and left the cell, Lisa mumbled a curse about the loss of her glasses as the world turned to a monochrome blur around her.

Out of all of her rotten luck, Aizen had seen fit to take the glasses Kisuke had special made for her vision. Having intensely sensitive eyes and other senses came in handy from time to time but in Lisa's case it didn't work out so well. Lisa had to go to Kisuke for special glasses that could both handle her sensitivity and also clear up what damage she had prior to hollowfication.

Before she knew it, they were entering a larger room where, upon being dropped onto the ground like a bag of trash, she could make out the blurred form of Aizen and a number of arrancar around him.

She jumped as a warm hand slipped into her own and turned to see a shock of green surrounding a pale face. "Mashiro." Lisa almost cried upon seeing her, following the tilt of Mashiro's face to see that the other Espada were dragging in the other members of the Visored. "Is anyone missing?"

She was shushed by what looked like a very tall spoon with a face and was dragged to kneel before Aizen's throne with the others, the cool stone leeching away the warmth from her legs.

"So good to see you all again." Aizen was as calm as always, his figure relaxed and his fingers repeatedly rapping against the arm of the throne. "I'm sure your accommodations have been adequate." She could hear the grind of Kensei's teeth at the snickers that rang out from the gathered arrancar.

"Cut the crap." Shinji sounded strong, pulling himself upright and flipping his overly long bangs out of his eyes. "You aren't just here to gloat and i want to know what you did."

"Did to what Hirako?" Aizen rose from the throne to stand directly in front of Shinji.

"Rose." That wonderful name was hissed between Shinji's teeth, his entire figure tensing up in anger. "He's not here and no one's heard him in weeks. I know you did something."

"I had no part in what was done to him." Aizen turned on his heel and walked down their line of breaking souls. Taking a moment to run a hand through Hiyori's messy halo of blonde locks he spoke just as he pulled his hand away before she could try to bite him. "All that singing took a toll on his health and it'd be unwise to allow him to go back there when he'd last so little time in there."

Love's head bowed, "He's too sick to be moved?"

"Much less remain in those cells much longer. Without intervention he most likely wouldn't have lived much longer than he has now if he kept singing."

Mashiro's stifled sobs hiccuped beside her as Hachi too bowed his head.

"Which is why I'm deciding to step in. I can allow for you all to be moved to cells where you would all be able to see one another, and allow the opportunity for you to say goodbye to Rojuro." Lisa froze as Aizen stopped before her and lightly grabbed her chin and pulled her up to look directly in her blurry eyes, coming close enough to her face that he came into focus. "You would all be able to see one another and have other privileges, all for a small cost." His other hand traced the curve of her neck and throat. "All you would have to do is a very simple little task."

The hogyoku glittering in the center of his chest began to glow, and following a quick flash the gathered hybrids all recoiled in disgust at what had appeared.

"For the price of being able to say goodbye to your loved one and see each other everyday, all you would have to do is wear these."

The collar looked to be made of a simple metal but radiated the same draining energy as the seki-seki stone of the Soul Society. Lisa could recall seeing prisoners due for execution wearing collars with a small piece of seki-seki, but she had never encountered any materials that had the mineral imbued into it. To wear something like that for even a few hours would be nearly as draining as spending a night in the Repentance cell. Delicate chains of the same metal connected to matching shackles for each wrist.

"Just one little word and you'll have the ability to say goodbye." Kensei was testing the limits of how far one could lean back without falling over in order to keep out of the open collar's gaping maw. Aizen turned to where Hiyori sat frozen, eyes wide at the shining metal. "I'd hate to tell Rojuro that his friends refused to come see him when he was so close to the end." He tsked and turned away from them.

Rule one of their little family: No one gets left behind, no matter what. She didn't need to look at the others to know that they were all thinking the same thing, that there was no way that they would ever allow Rose to go without the others nearby.

Aizen didn't even have to ask again for them to accept the collars, the others all following Shinji's example as he bowed his head and held out his wrists.

"We'll do what you want, take us to Rose." Lisa's heart rose for the briefest moment at the strength in Shinji's voice, but once again sank as Aizen locked the collar around his neck, the gasping breaths following the choked noise he gave out after dropping from the weight of the collar settling like ice into her stomach.

As much as she wanted to sit tall and stare Aizen down as he locked each of their collars into place she couldn't stop from flinching and feeling her eyes tear up as she heard Hiyori's groans of pain and Mashiro's whimper as the heavy metal leached away their meager spiritual pressure, leaving them weaker than a weak Rukon child.

'I'm doing this for Rose.' Was all she could repeat to herself in her mind as the cold metal caused the skin of her neck to feel as though it was being burned, followed by the same fire reaching to encircle her wrists.

"Now, that wasn't so hard." Aizen chuckled as Kensei tried to keep from sagging from the drain ripping away any power he had managed to build up.

Snapping his fingers, Aizen called out to the pink haired Espada, "Szayelaporro, if you would please let Grimmjow and Nnoitra know to bring Rojuro in."

Rather than drag in the emancipated blonde that they all expected, they were greeted with the sight of the two espada dragging a fighting Rose into the room where they easily managed to contain him and throw him down at Aizen's feet.

It wasn't until Rose tried to get up that Lisa managed to see through those tangled waves to see something glinting on his face, shining metal streaked with tear tracks.

"Rose?" Such a tiny whisper yet he reacted as if she had screeched his name right into his ear, wide violet eyes turning to look at them, eyes catching on the collars and shackles.

"You lied to us!" Hiyori roar would have been more intimidating if when she tried to rise to her feet that her legs didn't immediately give out on her and spill her to land on Shinji.

"I only gave you a deal and facts my dear." He slipped a finger under Hiyori's collar and lifted her off Shinji and deposited her back into her original spot. "I told you that he was doing poorly and that I had to intervene to keep his health from getting any worse. You all assumed that I meant he was upon his deathbed." He tsked and leaned down to try to grab Rose's chin, unflinching as Rose jerked his face away from that hand and tried to scoot away.

"Shame, that he fears the hand that tries to heal him." Turning away from where Rose curled up, heavily breathing yet never making a sound. "He nearly wastes away to nothing while destroying his voice and I try to heal him only to receive this behavior in return." Clicking his tongue he shook his head, "I believe you all will have to make your goodbyes swift as he's quickly coming undone."

Lisa could feel hollowed heartbeats begin to fall into a icy grip. "But—"

"Once Ican be sure that he's isn't as likely to damage himself again I will have him delivered to all of you, but for now I have to assume he's going to do what he did again, so I'm going to make sure he keeps nice and quiet." That gentle smile crept onto that lovely face again. "I wouldn't dither, it's almost time for you all to get settled into your new home."

—-

Rose was vaguely aware of the change in his surroundings as he was dragged down a new featureless hallway, numb to the aches that came from being pulled across the ground by his bound hands, the new heavy weight around his neck not even warranting concern.

Coming to a stop, he silently sighed to himself as his escorts spoke to another arrancar.

"Aizen said he's good to be placed with the others." The rough yank of his shackled hands was enough to let Rose know that they were talking about him, the barest bit of interest running across his mind at the thought of seeing his friends again as the sound of a heavy door opening echoed through the halls.

Moving quickly, Rose barely had a moment to register passing Kensei and Shinji sleeping in barred cells before he was roughly thrown into an empty cell, the metal portion of the muzzle clanging against the bars near the corner of the cell, the metallic clang echoing through his fuzzy head and making him feel like his fillings were about to shake loose.

Released from the shackles, the tiny chains retracted into the collar and the arrancar left without a single word, the slam of the door behind him causing whatever of the Visored that had been asleep to awaken.

Judging by their wide eyes, he surely had to be some sort of sight, and most likely a sad one.

Everything in him wanted to say something, anything, even the slightest word to them. They had allowed Aizen to put chains on them because of him, and he wasn't even a worthy enough reason.

Tears began to burn the corners of his eyes as they all watched him try to speak, apologize, beg for forgiveness, something, anything!

A silent wail ripped through him, long fingered hands reaching up to once more try to claw away at the edges of the mask, little cuts appearing on his throat and face as he scratched at the muzzle.

Right as he doubled over, forehead slamming down onto his knees, he froze as a familiar hand reached through the bars and settle down into his tangled waves while the second gently pulled him against a knee that had managed to force itself into his cell.

Face resting against her knee, Rose recognized what Lisa as doing. Back before the war, whenever any of the girls had gotten upset, Rose used to pull them close and stroke their hair, never flinching at Hiyori's threats or Mashiro's wailing and tears. He would just sit there and let them do what they needed until the tears had been spent or words no longer were able to rip away at the issue at hand, softly humming as it went on.

'I don't deserve this. I don't deserve them...'

"Rose, I swear, if you try to pull away and cry dramatically in the corner I'm gonna castrate you." He almost laughed at Lisa's threat as she kept him from trying to pull away, she just knew him too well.

For a series of long moments, the cell block was silent, all eyes focused on the formerly missing member as he quietly shook as Lisa stroked his hair.

What to say? 'I'm sorry you were tortured and our first thought was 'Rose must be kicking the bucket?''

In the end, Shinji settled on another form of response he knew Rose would best love.

In a scratchy and long unused voice, he quietly sang.

"If you change your mind, I'm the first in line. Honey I'm still free"

"Really Shinji?" Hiyori was snorting as Kensei glared at him. "All the music we've ever heard him listen to and you chose 'Mama Mia'?"

"Hush, Meryl Streep and Rose understand each other on levels we insignificant mortals will never experience, now quit yer yapping."

"Take a chance on me~" Mashiro continued where Shinji left off before they picked up the tune again, Rose watching them with teary but amused eyes.

"If you need me, let me know, gonna be around."

"If you've got no place to go, if you're feeling down" Love's voice joined in, and soon they were all singing for him, just as he had for them.

"If you're all alone when the pretty birds have flown

Honey I'm still free

Take a chance on me

Gonna do my very best and it ain't no lie

If you put me to the test, if you let me try..."

The song went on, along with many others, lulling Rose into the first quality sleep he'd had in a long time.

—

On the other side of the palace, Aizen listened to the harmony the seven of them were making as they switched to another song, eyes on the screen where a camera was recording their little reunion.

"To think they all share such a gift." He traced a finger along the rim of his glass, the crystal singing a sweet note before he pulled away and leaned back in his chair. "I simply cannot wait to see all what my precious Jewels can do."


	3. Part 2: An Unconventional Punishment

For the most part, a cell made of bars that allowed for you to see your loved ones was a great thing.

For the first time in what felt like forever, they were all together and hearing each other in real time, not echoes rumbling around a large castle. From her space in between Hachi and Shinji she could almost relax and she didn't have to worry about someone's silence meaning that they were gone forever.

Rose would sing every once and awhile but as soon as they felt spiritual pressure nearby he quieted down, hands drifting up to his mouth as he tried to keep from falling into the memories of forced silence and the loneliness he had felt. It twisted her insides when the movement caused the heavy collar around his neck to shift, digging into skin.

Each of them were wearing a seki-seki imbued metal collar, meant to keep them under control now that they were no longer in pure seki-seki cells but that didn't mean that they were any better. For all Aizen went on about keeping them in perfect condition he seemed pretty content to leave them weak and exhausted from the drain of spiritual energy mixed in with the heavy metal digging into their necks. It was the perfect concentration to send their spiritual pressure down to that of the average Rukon dweller, causing them to lack any sort of hunger.

"You doing alright brat?" Shinji's hand slipped between the bars and drew her as close as he could get to her through the bars. Holding hands had become the new hug for them as that was all most of them could fit through the bars, Hachi's gentle hands were too large and he had to wait for people to reach out for him, but with the small walkway between them it still hurt to be just mere inches out of Lisa and Rose's reach, and the others outside of Hachi and Shinji were just too far away. That was one of the downsides of the bars. At least in the cell made of stone she knew that wasn't any chance for contact.

"Just thinking." She rolled one of her shoulders, trying to shift into a more comfortable position as he chuckled in response. She scrunched up her nose as he tried to rub her back, squirming away. Each of the Visored knew each other's secrets, and one they all knew was that a back rub was a surefire way to get Hiyori to relax when she was stressed. "Knock it off Shinji." She made to push his hand back into his own cell.

"Just accept the affection." He grunted as their one armed struggle began to grow into one of their little squabbles. She could faintly hear Lisa telling them to knock it off as she managed to finally get the upper hand, pushing his arm back to his own side. What was unexpected was that when he went to make her regret winning that he pulled on her hand, pulling her halfway into his cell.

All eight of them were silent as they realized that Hiyori had gotten skinnier over the time spent in captivity, that she was now small enough to fit in between the bars.

Pulling herself back into her own cell there was maybe a second of doubt or worry before she turned to the small walkway between their cells and slowly pushed her way through the bars. Part of her was worried that the collar was going to do something to her, but surprisingly there was no resistance.

For the first time in weeks she stood on her own two feet outside of her cell, no being plucked and carried or being strapped down to a gurney or a wheelchair, just standing outside her cell.

A smile, one of the rare ones that was unlikely to be seen during freedom/exile, spread across her cheeks as a soft laugh bubbled up.

"You got out!" Rose reached out and grabbed her hand, the old calluses warm against her small hands.

For all that she wanted to celebrate, she had a plan. Turning to the wall furthest from the door she ran over and grabbed the keys to the cells, each a pure silver key with a glittering gemstone set into the handle.

"We're doing a fucking jailbreak." She grinned as she pushed a key into the lock of Mashiro's door, the satisfying click followed by the creak of the door opening causing her friend to tackle her with a hug.

Within a few moments the entirety of the group was free and wearing the first smiles they had all worn in a long time. Sure they had no idea where they were, in both the building or the worlds, but anywhere had to be better than here.

Poking his nose through a crack in the door Kensei took a deep breath in, "Doesn't smell or sound like anyone's near here, let's move."

Years of emergency escapes and evading the Soul Society had left them with incredible teamwork skills and the ability to easily evade enemies without being seen, which for a group that included an eight foot tall giant and a girl with green hair was pretty good.

For a good 20 minutes they slunk from one quiet corridor to another, relying on their amplified hollow senses to help them get around, following the unfamiliar scent of sand. Part of Hiyori wanted to argue for them to got to the throne room, to grab their zanpakuto and run like hell, but she knew it would be futile. Not only would Aizen count on their love of their blades, but she could already see the boys going into defensive mode.

For the past century they had always placed keeping the girls safe above any other objective. She knew that they were doing it when Love gently pushed her behind him despite her hearing and nose being sharper than his own. When she tried to get around him to help he lifted her up into his arms, the tight grip being all the warning he knew she would need to stay put for now.

It just happened to be their luck that they came across one of the female arrancar's fracciones walking with one of the sixth's. For a brief moment both groups looked at one another, neither quite sure what to do. Before either arrancar could react, Hiyori decided to take action. Pushing herself around, Hiyori summoned her mask and fired a series of quick ceros at the ceiling above them, rubble raining down on their enemies as Lisa yelped for them to run as shouts rang out behind them.

No longer did they follow a scent, but instead they ran as fast as they could down the hallways, knocking lower ranked arrancars away in their bid for freedom. Hiyori was glad that Love was holding her, the lack of energy combined with the drain from those tiny ceros left her light headed and if she had been on her feet she surely wouldn't have been able to make it a single step.

Horrified, they were chased right into a familiar atrium, the space right outside Aizen's throne room. Too quickly they were surrounded by the Espada, forced to go back to back as a soft golf clap sounded out.

"What an interesting show." Aizen smiled as he walked towards them, "Here I thought that you all were good and trapped, but I seem," his eyes went straight to Hiyori, "to have made a slight miscalculation with my belongings." He crooked a finger towards her, "Come here, Ruby."

Love pulled her tighter against his chest before shoving her up and over his shoulder into the space between all of their backs, Mashiro and Lisa slipping in as the circle shrunk to better protect them.

"I don't believe that I was speaking to any of you," he snapped his fingers, "Nnoitra, grab the Ruby for me please, if the rest of you would be so kind as to restrain the others."

A brief scuffle happened around them as Mashiro and Lisa held her, her woozy head too muddled to have been any use in any fight.

Too quickly Nnoitra loomed over them and pulled her from the other Visored's grip, kicking Mashiro to the feet of the the 8th Espada. She hissed at him as he held her up in the air by her blond locks before he lightly threw her to be splayed out at Aizen's feet where he tsked at her disheveled state.

"And here I thought you were still the genius girl you were known to be nearly 150 years ago." His hand wrapped around the large collar about her neck before he pulled her to her feet. "It seems that you need to be taught a lesson."

She paled and faintly heard Shinji calling out for Aizen, roaring with he others for his blood as Aizen's hands gently gripped her shoulders.

"Take them back to their cells and keep the keys better hidden this time around." He lazily called out for his minions to do as he said, his attention fully on Hiyori, "I have matters to attend to."

Slipping a few fingers beneath her heavy metal collar he began to pull her from the atrium down another hallway. "Come along my dear, you were so keen to explore earlier."

—

She was doing her best to keep walking straight, the weakness from her cero blast mixed with her drain was seriously going to be her downfall, carefully placing one foot in front of the others. Too quickly he tried to make her take a turn and she spilled onto the ground, the world spinning.

"Seems like you're not feeling you best." She glared up at him as he chuckled above her. She bit her tongue, remembering the promise Shinji had made her swear after they were together again.

"I'm only gonna say this once brat." He had run a hand through his fine blonde hair as the others all began to settle into their new surroundings, "when it comes to Aizen you cannot try to talk to him. He gets to you way too easily and it only causes you trouble." He gestured at the scar on her waist before looking back up at her. "Promise me that you'll do your best to keep your cool around him."

She could still recall him grinning as she wrapped his pinkie around his in a silent promise. For the most part, Aizen had kept himself distanced from most of the Visored, stepping in when he felt needed or wanted to prove a point.

Taking a deep breath, she tried to gather her feet beneath her, knees shaking as she pushed against the wall for balance. She hadn't fired a cero in months(?) and she usually tried to hide how despite the Hogyoku saving her life a second time that she was still really weak when it came to the lower half of her body.

She had nearly made it all the way up when her knee gave a loud click and she started to fall again. Instead of the impact she had begun to brace for, hands went under her armpits.

"Seems that there's quite a bit about you I need to assess." Before she could protest he gathered her into his arms and begun to flashstep. With her collar she and the others lost that ability but he could do it just fine, easily flitting down the hallway before ending up in what looked like an infirmary, waving off other hollows as he deposited her on a cot in a private room, locking the door behind them.

Instantly her senses were on high alert, being in a room alone with the most evil figure of her past two centuries. Much like an animal, she began to bristle and try to puff up against his intimidating figure as he carefully watched her.

"I never noticed how animalistic the eight of you have become in the past century." Moving to the door at the other end of the room he pulled it open and sat down in the swivel chair near the entrance to the room. "Go in there and bathe."

Eyebrows raised as she looked at him, her head slightly tilting in confusion. "Why?" The question couldn't help but pop out as she studied him. "I lead a jailbreak and you decide to let me take a bath?"

She and the other Visored were usually taken to use a restroom in the area where they were kept while under the watch of an Espada. It was embarrassing but there was no shower or anything so it had been awhile since she had last been able to bathe.

"Think of it as a peace offering. I'll stay out here and you take all the time you need in there." He relaxed back into the chair, "I'll even do work and keep busy if it makes you happy."

"Tch." She grunted and turned her nose up at him. "Don't play innocent with me, Sousuke." There was a slight twitch near his left eye at her calling him by first name. "That's right, even back in the day you preferred for us to call ya by your last name."

"And back in the day you were better mannered under Hikifune." She stiffened at the causal mention of her mother-figure's name. It had been a long time since Hiyori had been able to think of her old captain without a bitter taste rising in her mouth. "Come to think of it, I saw her when I defeated the old Soul King." He tapped his chin, all of her attention directed at him.

She hissed at him, "What did you do to her?"

He gestured to the bathroom, "Go take a bath and I'll tell you more."

"NO." She could hear Banshee beginning to whisper sweet words of aggression in her ears as she leapt off the cot and swayed on weak legs. "You will tell me right now what you did to her and all the others."

She was seeing red as he fluidly arose from his chair and walked in a circle around her, "Then we shall compromise." Giving her a gentle shove he frogmarched her into the bathroom.

It was really fancy for an infirmary restroom, a large tub taking up most of the floor space and other amenities ringing the room. A part of her realized that this must be for the Espada and high ranked numeros as he pushed her towards the tub. "I will talk if you take the time to clean yourself and I assure you that no harm will come to you so long as you do as I say."

Seeing as he settled onto the raised edges of the tub and quietly awaited her, there were no other options. She knew she couldn't try to run, he'd have her in a second. Blush rising on her cheeks she turned away from him and slipped off the light kimono she had worn since waking up in her seki-seki cell.

"Still as modest as ever I see."

"Oh just shut up." She unceremoniously dropped the rest of her clothing and slipped into the large tub, hands concealing herself from wandering eyes looking through the clear waters.

Turning to look for soaps she noticed him rise up from the tub's edge and move towards a small cabinet filled with numerous bottles. After taking a few moments to consider his choices he grabbed a series of delicate looking bottles and lined them up on the edge of the tub.

"The first one is to be poured in the bath water, the entire bottle."

"Whatever you say…"she mumbled as she shifted and dumped the bottle into the water, coughing as she was instantly overwhelmed by the heavy perfume of jasmine and berries. Times like this were when she really hated being a Visored more than usual, when something that should have been enjoyable hit her in the face like a frying pan. Enhanced senses were nice for some things like hunting and cooking, not as much fun when it came to everyday occurrences that no ordinary mind should have to deal with. The warehouse had been chosen because of its cover and how isolated it was from the busy area of town Ichigo lived in. Too many bright lights, noises, and smells for their poor overworked senses to handle.

He smiled at her reaction and reached over to the faucet, fiddling with a series of knobs when pulsing water began to help bubbles form and heat up the water. Once she got used to the heat and decided the bubbles sufficiently hid her form beneath the water she removed her hands from herself and slightly sunk into the fragrant waters, one eye watching the new lord of the worlds while she relaxed the tiniest bit.

He gestured to another bottle, "Shampoo."

She quickly dunked her head into the water and reached for the bottle and as she began to roughly rub in the concoction of more jasmine into her hair he moved behind her and shooed her hands away. She made to complain but then he spoke.

"Your precious Hikifune and other Soul Reaper friends are all still alive." His fingers dug deep to the roots of her thick blond hair as he spoke to her. "She and the others have been stripped of their titles and I fully intend to make sure their arrogance doesn't plague the Society ever again.

"I'm sure you recall that arrogance. Every other member of squad zero brought their lieutenants and loved ones with them when they were promoted, yet Hikifune left you alone. Everyone knew that you were her right hand." Any anger she had began to sputter out as he hit all the topics she swore she would never speak about again. "While she was off working on her projects, you ran the division, taking her place in numerous captain's meeting and still doing your own workload, but that didn't stop you from also helping her make a better artificial soul." She screwed her eyes shut, refusing to let the tears fall. "Your name wasn't even on the files she submitted her work on, and she didn't even think to bring you along with her to the city of the Soul King, leaving you behind for the likes of Kisuke."

"What's your point? My life sucks and has for a longtime, what else is there to say?" She moved out of reach of his hands and to where the water poured from the faucet. "I thought Hueco Mundo didn't have water? How do you have indoor plumbing?"

"Secrets I might be willing to share one day." He gestured to another bottle and lightly tossed a red loofah in the water.

"Tch." She glared at him, "Do you really need to watch me do this?"

"You all give me plenty of reason to have to be careful." He stiffened in the slightest."After the scare Rojuro gave us, I decided that it would be better to keep a closer eye on all of you, and lo and behold." He gestured to her as she began to scrub her arms, "The Ruby partakes in a jailbreak."

"What does that even mean?" She huffed at the realization that she would have to rise above the water to properly scrub herself down. "Calling us your 'jewels' and acting like this?" Turning from him she rose to quickly scrub down her front before quickly raising each of her unsteady legs to quickly clean them. Catching his roaming eyes she returned to being nearly submerged in the bubbly water. "Perv."

"You all were never meant to survive that night and managed to survive all these years to become so...interesting." His ever present smile was beginning to annoy her, "You eight are true rarities. The first attempt at arrancars, a failed attempt I must admit, but something even more powerful. Something compelled me to make you all my own, to keep you locked away for my pleasure, like precious jewels in a case." He walked to the edge of the room and grabbed her towels, placing them and a fluffy robe on a dressing table. "Dry off and come into the next room. Do not put those filthy rags on again. We'll find you something more befitting, my gem."

In a flash he was gone and she was alone once more.

—

After she exited the bath he had a number of 'nurses' take her body weight and other measurements under his careful watch.

She hissed at the pink haired Espada Rose had told her about made his way into the room, a snide smile growing across his face. Rose was right, this guy was nearing Mayuri levels of creepy.

"So I finally get to collect data on a Visored? This is truly an honor Lord Aizen." He gave a small bow to Aizen before turning to where Hiyori had been inching towards the door.

"I apologize that your data collecting will have to be limited to her most basic medical information." It took all Hiyori had to not flinch at those calm brown eyes as he gestured to her. "Nothing that can damage her or put her out of commission for very long." He moved towards the door, "I'll take my leave for now, please alert me when you've completed your testing." The lock quietly clicked behind him, leaving her alone with the nurse hollows and the Octava.

"Truly a rarity, and so much diversity! Your species' reputation precedes all of you." Szayelaporro looked her up and down, taking in her small form. He snapped his fingers and a nurse took out a pad of paper and a notebook. "Start taking notes. The first subject is the youngest of the Visored. Female, roughly 4 feet and 4 inches tall, and…" he looked down at her measurements, "Tsk, very underweight for her size. No wonder you look like you're gonna blow away in the breeze, I'll have to plan out a proper nutrition plan if we want you to continue to grow."

Snorting she leaned back against her wall, "Unlikely." At his raised eyebrow she continued, "Kisuke and Mayuri couldn't figure out a way to get me to naturally grow, so a wannabe like you won't be able to do much."

"So you know that...soul reaper, Kurotsuchi?" His face was pulled into an ugly expression that almost made her laugh.

"I used to be his superior." She frowned, "still would be if Sousuke hadn't decided to make us all half monster." She paused for a moment, "Offense fully intended."

He chuckled as he motioned for the notes to continue, "You seem to be the fun one, now let's continue on. The subject has a blood type of…"

—

For all it was worth, the Octava wasn't as bad as Mayuri when it came to dealing with him. After he was satisfied he left her back in the care of Aizen, promising to visit soon. Aizen pulled her back into his arms and flash stepped away to a new part of the castle she had yet to see.

Compared to the rest of the palace's plain white walls and doors this one was different. Eight gemstones were perfectly placed into a wreath of white gold against a ebony door.

Entering the room she found a common living space with an attached kitchen. The room had four doors on either side of the room, each a different bright color, and another door on either side of the kitchen space that led to another area just out of sight.

"Lovely, isn't it?" She raised an eyebrow as Aizen gently pushed her further into the room.

"Suuure…" she did have to admit it was nice compared to some of the other blander areas they had passed by.

"Good." With a wave of his hand a soft click sounded to her right and the red door with the ruby doorknob swung open. "Until I call upon you, these will be your quarters."

"What?" She turned to him, "I'm not going to be dragged back into a cell with the others?" Panic was rising in her voice, was this the punishment?

"You've proven to me that your previous quarters weren't properly suited for someone of your mind and stature. You will remain here, away from the rest of the Visored, until either I believe the others are suited to join you or otherwise."

She was frozen as he calmly walked to the door, opening it the slightest bit. "This comes with duties my Ruby, and think of this as punishment for deciding to test me as you did."

With that he slipped through the small crack in the door and allowed himself a happy smile as he heard her pounding her fists against the door, begging to go back to the others.


End file.
